This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Dr. Tyler Brown's Oct. 16 op-ed addresses an increasingly complex topic that affects people across the country: the affordability of life-sustaining medications, such as insulin, in the headwinds of a complicated and challenging health care payment environment.
Today's health care system works well for many people, but those who choose high-deductible insurance plans (about 10 percent) while also managing chronic health conditions face new challenges in how they access the treatments they need on a daily basis. While changes in the health care law and health care coverage have produced benefits such as affordable health insurance premiums for people who previously went without coverage, it has created new problems, such as much higher out-of-pocket costs for people using high deductible plans. People in these plans who use insulin are often hit particularly hard. And yet, as The Wall Street Journal reported on Oct. 10, the major insulin manufacturers are collecting "about the same or less than they did several years ago."
Changing the economics of insulin will require leadership and cooperation across many stakeholders, including manufacturers, payers and policymakers. A permanent solution requires collaboration because the solution isn't simple.
Lilly has been engaging with diabetes organizations, patients and the broader health care community to better understand the obstacles patients face in accessing the insulin they need and discussing strategies to overcome them. There is a shared and deep commitment to drive change and recognize that no one group can solve this complex issue by itself.
David Kendall, M.D.
Vice President, Medical Affairs
Lilly Diabetes
Eli Lilly and Company
Indianapolis